A Love Brought Forward
by DancingChestnut
Summary: Bilbo Baggins is an aspiring actor who's going to audition for the lead role of - you guessed it - Bilbo Baggins in the movie The Hobbit. But then, a dark-haired stranger appears in his house and claims he's Thorin Oakenshield, and he knows of no such person. Set before the events of The Hobbit.


_Earth, London, Year 2012_

Bilbo was having an absolutely horrible day. When he woke up, he found that the coffeemaker he had bought _just yesterday_ was broken, and his much-needed cup of tea was not ready. He stumbled blearily around his apartment for a good fifteen minutes before he woke up fully, and by the time he had seated himself at the kitchen table, washed and dressed, he was late for work by a half hour and had no time to have his piping hot tea. He dashed out of his apartment building and managed to flag down the bus after much screaming and jumping around like a wild lunatic, and to make matters worse, when he reached for his handkerchief to mop the sweat off his forehead, he realized that he had forgotten to bring it.

Now, on the extremely crowded and stuffy bus, he reached for his briefcase and snapped open the clasp, taking out a stack of papers. He was going for an audition for a role in the movie: The Hobbit. As he glanced down at his crumpled, sweaty shirt and crooked tie, he didn't think he stood much of a chance. He looked at his watch. His audition was at 10 am. It was 9.45 am, and judging by the crawling traffic, he was going to be late. Very late.

Still, if he didn't try he was not called Bilbo Baggins. He'd always thought it had a rather nice ring to it, and it didn't hurt that it was the name of the very role he was auditioning for. Yes, he was auditioning to act as the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, in the movie The Hobbit. It still sounded like nonsense to him. But there you go: this is what happens when your mother loves Tolkien so much, she thought it would be a good idea to name her son after a book character.

Bilbo stared at the script in his hands, mouthing the lines and shaping his face into the different expressions as needed. The person beside him was shooting furtive glances at him and inching away slowly: but if this audition went well, then that person would be screaming for his autograph. Bilbo smiled at the thought.

Finally, at 10.30 am, Bilbo reached his stop and clambered off, cramming his papers into his briefcase messily and with no regard for organization. He checked his watch and started to run, his shoes clicking on the pavement as he made his way to the large building that loomed before him.

His phone rang, and Bilbo dug in his pocket for it, not slowing his pace.

"Hello? Yes, I know I'm late -" he shouted after glancing at the caller ID.

"Are you there already?" His manager, Lila, shouted back at him. "It's 10 am! If you're there, that's great, but they just called me to tell you -"

"What're you talking about?" Bilbo cast a puzzled glance at his watch. "It's 10.30."

There was a short silence at the end of the line. "No, it isn't. It's coming 10.05 am."

"I'm telling you -" Bilbo stopped and took his phone away from his ear, squinting at the time displayed on the screen. "God, it is 10.05 am! What - so my watch is fast? Goodness, I was worried for nothing!"

"Well, as I was saying," Lila said patiently, "The director called me to tell you, they've shifted your slot back by fifteen minutes. So if you want to freshen up, get a coffee, whatever, you still have time."

"Alright. Thanks. Yeah, got it. Mmmm. Bye." Bilbo walked along the pavement after hanging up, now at a considerably slower pace. He removed his watch from his wrist and slipped it into his pocket, intending to bring it to the shop for repairs later. After looking at the time on his phone, he made a short trip to a nearby Starbucks to buy an overpriced hot green tea, and sipped it slowly while he entered the audition venue.

"Welcome! Are you here for the Hobbit audition?" A woman with curly hair, pen and clipboard in hand, asked.

"Yeah." Bilbo looked around, enjoying the feeling of air-conditioning on his warm skin.

The woman glanced down at her clipboard and made a note on it with her pen. "Mr Bilbo Baggins, is it? Your audition is in fifteen minutes. Why don't you sit down first?"

Bilbo nodded, peeking at the name tag on her blouse. "Thanks, Penny."

"No problem." She smiled and turned away as another man entered the room, and Bilbo found a seat by the window. He smoothed his shirt down, adjusted his tie, and retrieved his papers - just to familiarize himself with the lines again.

He needed this role. After graduating from theatre school, Bilbo had been expecting to become famous quickly, but he soon realized that showbiz was not as glamorous as it seemed. A lot depended on connections, and Bilbo had none, being a poor little newbie. He had managed to clinch a few commercial deals and win a few pageants, but so far he had nothing major. A few minor roles in drama serials didn't count. To most of the world, he was a stranger. That wouldn't do, not for an aspiring actor and celebrity.

When the chance finally came for him to audition for this movie, he leapt at it. The director, Peter Jackson, was well-known, and his previous franchise, Lord of the Rings, was a huge success. If Bilbo managed to work his way into this lead role, money and fame would come naturally. He wouldn't need to spend his days worrying about daily expenses or how to pay Lila her salary any longer.

"Mr Bilbo Baggins?" Penny poked her head round the door of the audition room. When he looked up, she waved and smiled. "This way, please. The director is waiting."

* * *

_Middle-earth, Woods at the outskirts of the Lonely Mountain, TA 2770_

"Today's haul is a little poor, don't you think, Prince Thorin?"

Thorin looked desolately at the near-empty bag of meat he had gathered and nodded. "Indeed. All the animals were nowhere to be seen. We were either too noisy, or..." He shrugged. Almost all the meat in the bag were from the snares he had set the week before. Strangely enough, all the live animals in the woods had disappeared. He had barely heard a rustle or footstep when he was in the woods, something he was not accustomed to.

He quickened his footsteps as uneasiness stirred in his belly. "Come. Hurry! We make for home as swiftly as we can."

"Why the hurry, Prince?" A dwarf asked.

"I feel uneasy. The woods should not be this quiet. Something must have scared away the animals... And it's not us." Even at 24 years of age, Thorin held a quiet command in him that made the dwarven hunters beside him match his pace.

"Nothing would have happened. Erebor can hold its own against any army." A dwarf assured Thorin as Thorin broke into a full sprint, sword at his side and crossbow on his back bouncing along with his steps.

"We will see."

Thorin smelt and heard it long before he saw it. As he ran up the winding path to the Lonely Mountain, he saw dark smoke billowing up into the air, choked on the heavy smoke. The ground beneath his feet shuddered, and he heard the cries and shouts of his people among the periodic booms that shook the mountain. Quickly, he dropped his hunting bag and drew his sword, though he saw no enemy in sight.

"What do we do, Prince Thorin?" The hunters by his side asked. When he turned to them, his face was streaked with soot and dirt.

"Erebor is under siege. Escort the women and children to the nearest escape route. Quickly!" He turned and almost tripped on his feet as the ground shook yet again. Searing heat rushed in waves towards him, and under his hunting armour, Thorin began to perspire heavily.

"Thorin! Thorin, my son!" His mother ran towards him, worry clear in the lines of her face. "Thorin, why are you here? You should be out hunting, and safe from this!"

"Mother! I _was_ out hunting, but came back. Where is Father? What is happening? Are we being attacked?" Thorin grabbed his mother's arms and questioned hurriedly.

"Thorin, the day has come. Smaug the Terrible has taken it upon himself to claim the treasure of Erebor. He wants our wealth all to himself!" Tears ran down his mother's face and Thorin looked panicked at her words.

"The dragon? The dragon is here?" Thorin looked around and saw the fires licking at the mountain stone, the dark clouds of smoke hanging over his home. "Mother, we need to get our people to evacuate. Where is Frerin and Dís?"

"I do not know. Thorin, I will find your father and siblings. I will make sure our people flee in safety. But, take this!" She pressed a slip of yellow paper into his hand and closed his fingers around it. "This is a talisman, passed on through generations. Promise me you will keep safe."

There was a roar, and the ground shook violently. Orange fire came in streams around the mountain, and Thorin guided his mother out of the way. Screams and cries rushed towards Thorin's ears. Destruction was all around them.

"Smaug is coming! Mother, get to safety!" As Smaug rounded the corner, Thorin pushed his mother out of the way and stood to face the dragon. He was monstrous, as the tales told. His eyes were wide slits, glittering with gold. His scales were hard and worn, and as he moved towards Thorin, his skin slithered across the ground. When Smaug caught sight of Thorin, his thin mouth seemed to curl upwards into a smile.

"Well, well? What's this? Trying to hinder me?" Smaug moved closer, and Thorin trembled at the size of him. Still, he stood his ground.

"Still young a dwarf, you look. Should be tender. Should I cook you first? Or eat you whole?" Smaug was now face to face with Thorin. His forked tongue flicked when he spoke.

"You should leave Erebor. This is my home. You have no right to invade it." Thorin finally found his tongue and spoke. In his sweaty palm lay the talisman. His mother was nowhere to be seen, and his people ought to have been evacuated by now: he was buying them time.

"Oh, don't I?" Smaug sneered. "Get out of my way, dwarf." He opened his mouth and let loose a stream of fire.

* * *

"Terrible, terrible. I give up, okay? I don't want to be an actor anymore," Bilbo ranted on the phone to Lila. He stomped out from the elevator and searched in his wallet for his keys. "Yes. No. What? Not telling."

He found the keys and swung them down from his hand. They jangled merrily, and Bilbo scowled at them before inserting the key into the keyhole. He twisted, and the lock clicked. "I already said, I don't want to talk about it! Bye!" Bilbo shouted, exasperated, and snapped the phone shut, kicking open the door. He threw his briefcase on the floor and the clasp snapped open, the audition papers spilling everywhere.

Bilbo stared at them for a moment, then breathed in deeply. "Alright. Calm down, Bilbo Baggins. I mean, you're 22, and you want to be a famous actor. That's a lofty dream. Most stars only make it when they're, like, 30. You have a long, long time to climb up the social ladder." Bilbo knelt down and picked up the papers, having calmed down sufficiently. He collected them into a neat stack and placed them into his briefcase.

He kicked off his shoes and placed them into the shoe cabinet, then loosened his tie. He took out his phone and sighed. "I should call Lila back. I shouldn't have lost my temper; it wasn't her fault." He started to key in the numbers, but hesitated. "Later." His pride didn't allow him to call back so quickly. Anyway, who told her to keep probing? He already told her that the audition went badly!

He flushed as he thought about the audition. When he had entered the room, he had been overcome with a sudden surge of nerves, and had stuttered his way through his introduction. His introduction! Honestly! He couldn't even keep his cool and say, "Hello, I'm Bilbo Baggins"? After that embarrassing introduction, he had totally lost concentration, and didn't manage to inject as much emotion into his lines as he'd practiced. He had probably came across as a blur doofus. Chance of being chosen: zero.

"Tea. That's what I need. A hot cup of tea," Bilbo mumbled as he switched on the light and made his way to the kitchen. "Tea is the perfect remedy." He sifted through the things in his cabinet and triumphantly unearthed a carton of Lipton tea bags. Humming, he proceeded to soak the tea bag in hot water from his thermal flask. After adding milk and sugar, his tea was ready, and Bilbo sighed in contentment as he slurped from the cup.

"That's better." He lowered his head to drink again. "Mmmm." When he glanced up from the rim of the cup, he saw a man standing in the middle of his living room, staring back at him. "I couldn't have seen that..." Bilbo lowered the cup. Blinked. Blinked again. The dark-haired man still stared back at him.

Bilbo's senses finally caught up with him. He dropped the cup, not caring that it shattered on the floor, and screamed.


End file.
